Heretofore, in loading a plurality of articles such as bottles into a case, the case was fed beneath a grid set to a substantially centered position, and the grid set was shifted to drop the bottles into the case. In one particular bottle loading machine, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,986,321, stops were selectively raised and lowered into the path of the incoming conveyor for stopping the case on an elevator at a predetermined position. While these stops work satisfactorily when all of the cases being fed to the case loader were of the same size, problems developed however when different length cases were fed to be loaded. This resulted in the case not being properly centered relative to the grid set which carried the bottles that were to be deposited in the case. For example, cases manufactured of plastic frequently have a thicker front and rear wall as compared to cases manufactured of wood. Such, in turn, would of course make the overall length of the cases different so that if the front edges of the cases were stopped at a predetermined point, the center of the cases would not necessarily be at the same location or properly centered relative to the grid set.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,952,955, there is disclosed a bottle packaging machine wherein the cases are fed from the side by means of a power operated cylinder pushing the case from a conveyor onto an elevator. While this package machine may operate satisfactorily when all of the cases are of the same length, it would have problems when the cases were of varying lengths.
Other types of article handling devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,078,361, 2,799,414, and 3,788,034.
Cases have also been stopped relative to grid set by selectively engaging and disengaging a clutch that is operably connected to the drive for the conveyor feeding the cases to the article handling machine. Such would also have the same problem discussed above when cases of different lengths were utilized. Furthermore, when cases are being fed to the case loader at high speeds, 35-40 cases per minute, the inertia of the incoming cases makes it difficult to stop each case at the same centered position.
Another reason that it is important that the cases be centered relative to the case loading machine is that the thickness of the partitions within the cases vary. If the cases are not properly centered, the articles being deposited therein strike the tops of the partitions causing a malfunction.